Rapid Cycling: The Land of Confusion

My wife was diagnosed as being afflicted with Bipolar Disorder Type II with Ultra Rapid Cycling a number of years ago. Based on my own research of the different types of bipolar disorder and the most common symptoms, it became more and more visible that we were not dealing with the ordinary disorder that most of the articles and blogs touch on.

Typical sufferers of bipolar disorder exhibit episodes in a potentially cycling pattern, where they may experience a manic (“high”) for a number of days, weeks, months or even years before the next cycle hits and takes them into a depressive state (“low”) which again, may last for an extended period of time.

The “official” definition of rapid-cycling states that the individual must exhibit a cycle of four or more distinct episodes of mania/depression in a single year. However, this “switch” between the poles may also occur without a period of stabilized mood occurs more frequently.

To offer some deeper understanding, there is also a level of rapid-cycling that may be labeled as, “continuous” cycling, which means that there is rarely, if ever, a period of normal mood between cycles: you cycle directly from one mood state into another with no normal mood. But again, these episodes may be long, short, mixed, with added features of panic, anxiety, etc.

We also have ultra-rapid cycling and further yet, ultra-ultra-rapid or ultradian cycling. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia on ultradian cycling in bipolar disorder:

Ultradian states in bipolar disorder cycle much faster than rapid cycling, which is defined as four or more mood episodes in one year, sometimes occurring within a few weeks. Ultradian mood cycling is characterized by cycles shorter than 24 hours.

It is extremely important that we, as supporters and our loved ones as well, understand the differences and stay on top of the potential daily changes in order to provide a plan of attack when such cycles materialize.

The Supporter’s View
Supporting an ultradian cycler can be extremely taxing, emotionally draining and exhausting as during such a cycle, you may witness such an array of emotions from your loved one, that you simply cannot keep up and end up becoming confused yourself. There have been days where my wife will wake up and find me in my home office and will be in a wonderful mood wishing me a good morning with the biggest bear hug she can give me, and in a matter of minutes, switch over to a dark mood and run back to the bed, hiding under the covers not wanting to face the world. In that same day, she’ll come out a few hours later, showered, refreshed and ready to take on anything that comes her way. She recently posted on her blog about how her ultradian cycling affects her and covered in detail, a single day that included such an example.

Bipolar sufferers experience a kind of pain that non-sufferers can only imagine, yet, our loved ones feel so alone and out of touch that they will sometimes try to show us their own pain by hurting us (the supporters) in a way to relieve themselves and try to make others understand. When rapid-cycling is involved, the change over from one emotion to the next is unpredictable and if you are trying to follow your loved one’s pattern and expect it to stay the course, you will be left in a stupor trying to figure out what just happened and how.

With a passion to reach out and to help others, Rich opens up a direct view into the trials and tribulations that come with managing a bipolar relationship and how to use real-world techniques to aid in stability and support.

Rich Wallace

View all posts by Rich Wallace
Richs website

Before you go, please consider subscribing to TheBipolarSpouse.com's informative newsletter or keep up to date with current posts by using our RSS Feed or subscribe to new posts via email.